So, Robin's been acting a little funny lately. We went to play with my mom's dog last weekend. That night we noticed Robin was hiding in her crate. I thought she was babying one of her back legs. I gave her some aspirin and leash walked her for a couple of days and she seemed fine. We also had so much snow, that she's had most of the week to rest.

A few days ago, we noticed her hiding again, and this time maybe babying a front leg? Hard to tell. I noticed she has some sores between the 2 outside toes of both front paws, one is worse than the other. We've been doing epsom salt baths and they might be getting better.

Yesterday, we took a leisurely walk. It was probably a mile and a half, maybe two, but not at a run or anything. More hiding in the crate last night. She didn't sleep with us, which is unusual, but she was better this morning-- snuggly and playful. Then about noon, she started wanting to hide out again. I checked her rear paws and noticed that one of her nails looks red at the bed and has a horizontal purple line across it-- like when a person bruises a nail. Does that happen to dogs, too?

She comes out of the crate for potty breaks and if she hears the others getting treats or for dinner time and play time. And we did just get her a new super plushy crate pad, so she may just be happy to be in there. We've kind of over-trained the crate-- she runs in there to get treats all the time, but she rarely hides in there. We also had her crate room closed off all week because our outside cat had to be isolated in there (not a great situation, I know ) so she could just be making up for lost time.

I tried to snap some pictures, but the camera was acting up, adn she kept shivering and getting more upset, so I stopped.

She's due for her yearly exam this month, so I'll try to get her into the vet in the next couple of days. We'll check for worms, ear infections, the usual stuff, plus foot/leg/joint problems. We'll take it easy in the meantime, and keep an eye on her. It might be nothing, but there just seems to be something "off" about the way she's walking and acting...I know a toe or nail problem can be pretty painful for them. Do they bruise in the nail like we do? Maybe that's a stupid question...

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

I'm sure they do, I know they bruise. She may have quicked herself as well...

It kind of sounds like a lot of fuss for a single sore toenail though...

can you post pics of the feet sores?

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Malli wrote:I'm sure they do, I know they bruise. She may have quicked herself as well...

It kind of sounds like a lot of fuss for a single sore toenail though...

can you post pics of the feet sores?

A lot of fuss... on the part of the humans, I think.

Camera is acting up and I can't get anything. I'm just trying to pinpoint things to keep an eye on if I can't get her to the vet immediately. We're in for another round of house-bound level snow.

I came home from watching the Super Bowl, and she greeted me at the door as usual, ran and jumped into bed with me, seems right as rain. I do think the sores between her toes have been bugging her. And it wouldn't surprise me if she pulled something playing/running too hard the other day.

There are just so many variables. We had the thermostat low, and she gets very cold, so we put her sweater on. She's been without her crate almost all week, and that's not ok for her. She runs to her crate anytime she's scared, upset, if there's any stress in the house, to get away from us. So many variables. And we haven't really pinpointed which leg. She's just seemed a little out of sorts. If I can get a picture later, I'll post. Right now, we're going to keep an eye on her. She's eating, peeing, pooping, taking treats-- all the important things!

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

In my first post, I said she rarely hides in her crate...I guess I should amend or clarify that. She likes her crate and is really easy to kennel up. But she usually goes in there for a reason, and if we're home, she's usually hanging out with us. So if the reason's not obvious, I worry-- especially if I have to coax her out with any difficulty. But she is a sensitive little gal.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

I would bet the the nail might be broken, or maybe just partially broken. If she'll let you look closer check the nail bed and the actual toe for bruising. I do think it's possible to bruise a nail but I have never seen it - only broken ones.

Dogs are wimps when it comes to their nails and feet in general. I think taking it easy sounds like a good idea until you can make an appointment for her to see the vet.

Well, she's back in her crate now. We hit up the vet after work today. Turns out the nail I thought was bruised was hyperextended. It was definitely hurting her and she did NOT like the vet tugging on it. The sores between her toes and a few other things point to allergies as well. She had a low grade fever. The vet ran a blood test to check for anemia and tick-borne illness, but that was all ok.

He said that her general blah-ness could be an indication of some bad things like lymphoma or leukemia, but he didn't feel any lumps. I don't even want to think about that right now.

I dunno. She seems very happy to hang out in her crate-- she comes out if I get the super toys down and if I tell her it's time to go outside. So...the occasional aspirin and benadryl and some time for her nails to heal. We'll see what happens.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

Thanks, everyone. I gave her an aspirin last night after she'd been poked and prodded by the vet (with her dinner, of course). She went to sleep in the crate, but came in to snuggle at about 3am, so I was happy.

Come to think of it, a lot of the animals were in the bed last night-- we have a huge snow system moving in, so I think everyone's a little on edge with changing pressure.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

She was very well-behaved in the waiting room, which was pretty busy. We were there almost an hour and a half, as it's a first come first serve clinic, so it was asking a lot of her to be calm. Only a few woofs and she settled down when I started asking her to work for her treats. There was a young kid in the room, and she wasn't too worried about him. And she made an instant bond with the vet tech, who is new there. Much loving and kissing from both parties!

I was very proud of her on that count.

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

She was very well-behaved in the waiting room, which was pretty busy. We were there almost an hour and a half, as it's a first come first serve clinic, so it was asking a lot of her to be calm. Only a few woofs and she settled down when I started asking her to work for her treats. There was a young kid in the room, and she wasn't too worried about him. And she made an instant bond with the vet tech, who is new there. Much loving and kissing from both parties!

I was very proud of her on that count.

Like you said in the hips post, it feels great when they actually do really well at the vet! LiLo is horrible with strangers, I don't think she would bite anyone unless cornered, but she makes a lot of noises and it intimidates people so it makes matters even worse. I'm glad she was able to bond with the tech, I think it helps if the dog at least has one buddy in the place other than mom or dad.

it more then helps! I have BEEN that Buddy Its easier for the animal/dog, AND for the staff. When I worked at the animal hospital I've been asked before to help because of my relationship with a patient. To be fair, sometimes 2 personalities just "click" too...

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

But she seems to feel better. Less hiding in the crate. She still seems to baby her foot a little bit, but she's been much more sociable than when she didn't feel well. Snuggly, playful, the usual.

We haven't tried Benadryl yet-- but I noticed her scratching her ears this morning, so I'll try some this afternoon. He checked her for ear infections/mites, and she was clean, which I guess means it's likely part of the allergies. It hadn't really occurred to me, but she scratches her whole body a lot. I just thought of her as being wiggly, but I think she's actually itchy. I'm going to do a search on here and read allergy threads and probably post the questions I have in a new thread. I've never had an allergy dog. I've had allergy cats, and diet was a huge help there, but I understand that dogs have a lot of inhalant allergies, so... yeah. Then again, vets often don't know a lot about nutrition. Ugh. Lots to read!!

"In these bodies, we will live; in these bodies we will die.Where you invest your love, you invest your life." --Marcus Mumford

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
_______________________________________
"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
_______________________________________
"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07